Surely anyone reading this blog wouldn’t be so politically apathetic, so out-of-touch, so lazy as to still not be registered to vote (insert blogger’s giant smarmy ego here). But just on the chance some such person is passing through, CALIFORNIANS NOW HAVE LESS THAN ONE WEEK LEFT IN WHICH TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE NOV. 4 ELECTION!

Here in Alameda County, the Registrar of Voters will hold a special “Midnight Madness’’ voter registration drive outside its downtown Oakland offices — the courthouse at 1225 Fallon St. — from 5 p.m. to midnight next Monday, Oct. 20; staff will be on hand to distribute registration forms, answer questions and receive completed forms right up until the midnight registration deadline.

Elsewhere in Oakland, the League of Women Voters of Oakland will hold a registration drive from 6 p.m. to midnight that same night, Monday, Oct. 20, outside the Safeway supermarket at Pleasant Valley Road and Broadway.

Think of it as like going to the post office late on April 15 to get your tax return postmarked, except you’re the winner in this one.

Of course, you can get up and go right now to your local post office, Department of Motor Vehicles office, library, city clerk or county registrar’s office and pick up a voter registration application. Or, stop at one of the many voter-registration tables that’ve sprung up at local farmers’ markets, BART stations and other public spaces. Or, download it here. Completed applications must be delivered to your county Registrar of Voters office or postmarked by Oct. 20.

Go do it. Voting is not only a civil right many have died to defend, it’s also a civic responisibility. Opt out and you lose the right to crow or complain, come what may.